Modern Family: Do Not Push (6x02)

Okay. Three plots. Let's take them once at a time.

The Dunphys visit Caltech to take a tour for Alex. Alex tells her mother that she doesn't want to go there, because it's too close to home and she wants to get away from her family. However, she meets a cute boy on her tour, and reconsiders the school. Meanwhile, Phil, Luke, and Haley go to take a psych test. They see a button that says "do not push," and they think that the button is the test. As they try to decide whether to press it or not, Haley reveals that she's feeling like a failure for not going to school and accomplishing anything. Luke, who had skipped class to work on his movie, talks with his dad about his passions. Finally, the three of them decide to push the button. When they do, it turns the air conditioning on. At this point, someone comes in, all annoyed that they pushed the button, because the system is broken. He then gives them a form to fill out, which it turns out is the actual psych test.

I liked this plot, for the most part. All of the stuff with Alex, Claire, and the cute boy was really funny. I'm excited to see Alex go to college and explore her future. The psych test plot had one serious flaw, in that it was absolutely predictable that the button wouldn't be the real test. I saw that coming from a mile away. However, even with the premise itself being flawed, I really liked what came out of it. In particular, we got to see some more dramatic moments as Haley revealed her true feelings. I can sympathize with having no direction in life, so I enjoyed that part a lot.

It's Gloria and Jay's anniversary, and Jay wants to give Gloria a present from the heart. He makes her a bunny, which used to be his nickname for her, in a pottery class. Gloria doesn't understand the gift and thinks that it has jewelry inside of it. She breaks it open to find it. Jay is too embarrassed to tell Gloria the truth, so he says that the jeweler must have forgotten to put in the bracelet. Manny tells Gloria the truth, and she feels horrible. She tells Jay she doesn't want the bracelet, just the bunny. She also makes Jay a bookmark out of movie tickets as another nostalgic gift. However, Jay was really looking forward to Gloria's gift to him, of a fancy watch. The two decide to take the pricey gifts, too.

I think this was the best of the three plots, for the simple reason that we got to see Jay's more sensitive side. I love episodes that explore that aspect to him. He was so distraught when Gloria broke the bunny. I really felt for him. And then Gloria's panic when she learned the truth was nice to see. She's so used to being pampered, that she missed the love that was right in front of her. Very cute. I liked how Manny stepped in to Jay's defense, too.

Then there's Cam and Mitch. They're taking a new family picture to hang in their home. However, whenever they try to take the picture, Lily makes a terrible fake smile. They try to figure out a way to fix it, but when they tell her about the smile, she freaks out and doesn't want to take the picture at all anymore. With some advice from Claire, Cam and Mitch tell Lily that they love her smile, and they put the picture up on the wall anyway.

I'm not sure what to think about this one. The kid who plays Lily is good for some one liners, but when you give her actual acting to do, things start to go south. Also, nothing really happened here. With the Dunphy plot, there are actual ramifications for Alex's future and for Haley's as well. In Jay and Gloria's plot, we see some development of their relationship.  Here, we just have a only-moderately-humorous setup with no real payoff. So, while it wasn't a complete failure or anything, I didn't think Cam and Mitch's plot had much to offer.

So there you have it! Two plots I enjoyed, one I didn't think much of. However, Haley's breakdown moment was one of the best things I've ever seen come out of this show. Great acting, great lines.

7.5/10